The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage
(Book of Dust, Volume 1)
By Philip Pullman
Published 2017 by Alfred A. Knopf, New York
449 pages
ISBN: 9780375815300
449 pages
ISBN: 9780375815300
Synopsis:
It has been 20 years since the Dark Materials Trilogy(The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and the Amber Spyglass). This is the first book in the new trilogy, The Book of Dust, which finds the story in a parallel universe in nearby, Oxford England, where humans have familiars, ‘daemons’.It is the beginning of Lyra Belacqua’s story. She is a tiny 6-month-old infant left in the care of the nuns of the abbey. Her famous or infamous mother, Mrs. Coulter, did not want her and her father, Lord Asriel is banned from seeing her. The villain, Gerard Bonneville, with his daemon, a 3-legged hyena is after the child.
Malcolm Polstead, an 11-year-old boy, works for his father at the Trout Inn, which is located at the banks of the Thames River across from the abbey where Lyra is in safe keeping for the moment. He also is very friendly with the sisters at the abbey and helps them. Malcolm and his daemon, Asta pick up on the local gossip and news at the inn which is the center of many visitors on their way to other destinations. Malcolm is a very astute and observant child who one day finds a secret message inquiring about a dangerous substance ‘Dust’ and he encounters the spy, Dr. Hannah Relf, who it is meant for. She enlists him to be her ‘eyes and ears’ for any information. This is a dangerous mission since the times are tense with the CCD, a government agency who seizes people who speak out or disagree with ‘the Church.’
The Malcolm and Alice, a kitchen girl who works for his father, find themselves on a perilous journey rescuing the infant Lyra from the abbey which has been destroyed by the flood and take her to Jordan College for sanctuary. Even though the flood is a devastation to the countryside, it is the means that provides Malcolm a way in his prized boat, ‘La Belle Sauvage’ to carry them to their destination. For ones so young, he and Alice are extremely brave and resourceful in facing and eluding, the mad man Gerard and the different evil and crazy situations they encounter along their journey with their final destination, Jordan College.
Genre: Fantasy
Rule of Three: Appeal
Protagonist: Likeable character, resourceful, faithful; Pace: First couple of chapter were slow while describing the characters and the locale, but then it became more fast-paced. Easy read. Tone: Optimistic; Storyline: World-building; Mood: Suspenseful; Plot driven; Writing Style: Compelling.
Read-a-likes
The Princess and the Snowbird by Mette Ivie Harrison
Similarities: Fantasy series with male and female characters drawn together by destiny to take on dangerous missions. Magical bonds between humans and animals are world-buildling.
Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud
Similarities: A boy with a heart and a curious mind gets a chance to be a hero on a dangerous quest and a happy ending.
Mapmakers Trilogy by S. E. Grove
Similarities: Heroine and hero embark on a dangerous adventure.
Personal Comment: I did not want to give too much information and ruin the story. The reader has to have read the previous trilogy to have any understanding of what is going on because nothing is explained. It is just alluded to or it is considered as common knowledge, such as all humans have their own personal ‘daemons,’ what ‘Dust’ is, the importance of the alethiometer, and Lyra’s parents. There would be no reason to read this book without prior knowledge. The book was long, but it moved very fast after the first couple of chapters. It was suspenseful, and I wanted Malcolm to finally get to his destination, Jordon College. But, the previous books already state that Lyra was raised there. So, the destination was a given. The storyline just showed how dangerous the mission was and how dedicated and clever Malcolm and Alice were in their journey, plus they were so young. It seemed the journey transformed them into young adults.
As a spoiler, I wanted to read the next book in the series, but I found out it is not going to be released until October 2019! I did find a review which stated the second book is about Lyra all grown up and Malcolm and Alice are not in it at all, which is a disappointment.
References
Novelist Plus. Ebscohost. Accessed 21 March 2019 through the Indianapolis Public Library.
Saricks, J. (2009). At Leisure: The Rule of Three. Booklist, 106(3), 25. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
Saricks, J. (2009). The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction (2nded.). Chicago, IL: American Library Association.
You've made this sound very interesting, without spoilers it seems. ;) I'm disappointed that you *have* to have read the previous trilogy to understand this one, but that's just because I haven't read His Dark Materials Trilogy, lol. I'll get to eventually, maybe. But this one sounds really good, too. I generally don't gravitate toward fantasy on my own, unless it's an author I've read before, but I will on the recommendations of others. My best friend recommended His Dark Materials Trilogy to me years ago, but for some reason I've just let it slip down the list.
ReplyDeleteI was a little confused at first, until I read where you explained you must read the first trilogy first in order to understand this one. I find that very interesting that two trilogies are connected. Why don’t they just expand the first trilogy into a quartet so everyone knows you need to read the first three books first? Hmm...
ReplyDeleteBrady,
ReplyDeleteThe first trilogy was great. The books are a must read. The reason I said you had to read them first, is most of the main characters were already introduced in the other books, so he does not really give you any background on them. He assumes you alreayd know them. I just think this trilogy might be an afterthought, since it has been so long between the first and then this. Maybe he realized the popularity of his first and knew his readers wiht want more.
I read the trilogy as a kid and was obsessed with it. I'm struggling with just getting back in with this or rereading His Dark Materials..... Maybe this summer.
ReplyDeleteYour comment, "It seemed the journey transformed them into young adults" is a very fairy tale-esque sentence to me. Like the Snow Queen or the Wild Swans, which is such a fantasy specific trait. And I know Pullman published a book on Grimm's fairy tales, so he must be familiar with it. It's not a bildungsroman exactly--just this sudden change into an adult. Would you agree with this feeling?
Great job on your annotation! You had a great summary and appeals. I also echo your classmate's comments, that's a lot of books you have to read before you get to this one! You will get a minor deduction on this annotation, however. The Book of Dust is a young adult title. Granted it is fantasy, but this is an adult RA class.
ReplyDeleteKatie,
ReplyDeleteWhat I meant by that is Malcolm was just 11 and he reacted and made so many 'grownup' decisions. Also, he started to have 'feelings' for Alice. he saw her in a different light.